Electrolytic apparatus.



J. D. FIELDS.

ELECTROLYTIC APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 11, 1913 Patented July 21, 1914.

UNITE s'rarns rranir orrio.

JOHN D. FIELDS, OF BUTTE, MONTANA.

ntnc'rsonrrxc arrasiaros.

. T all whom it may concern specification.

electrolytic apparatlr,

My invention relates to improvements in and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein'described and claimed.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a novel electrolytic apparatus for the treatment of ores, especially copper ores in which the metal is deposited from a solution.

A further object of my invention is to provide an apparatus in which the cost of the production of metal is greatly reduced.

A further object of my invention to pro Vide an apparatus, the use of which results in a large economy of floor space, this being avery important item in a large red :tion plant.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accorn panying drawings forming part of this ap plication in which Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of the device, Fig. 2 is a vertical section tl'irough a portion of the device along the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow, Fig, 3 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the general distribution of the electrolytic cells, and 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

In a good many of the plants in. which copper is recovered by the electrolytic:

method the cells are made of wood, each wall of the cell and its bracing constituting a thickness of perhaps six inches. The cell is gent-rally lined with a conducting metal such as antimonial lead. A series of conducting" bars extends acres; the top of the cell from side to side, the alternate bars be ing con nor cd at one nd a c: bar and l' 4 the opp' from 7 cathodes from the ot a l ng Specification of Letters Iatent.

Application filed March 11, 1913.

Patented July 21, 1914.

Serial No. 753,523.

ing to increase the resistance. In order to prevent short circuiting there must be sufiicient clearance between the edges of the plates and the side walls of the tank, thus a space is lost which otherwise might be utilized. 1 also reduce the floor space by eliminating the outer wooden frame and the braces therefor as will be explained later.

In carrying out my invention I provide a series of tanks such as those shown at A, B,

C, l), E and F in Fig. 3. These tanks are made of some metal, preferably antimonial lead and consist of an outer casing 1 having a series of vertically extending ribs 2. These ribs terminate short of the end of the tank at an integral baffle plate 3 which extends downwardly from the top of the tank and terminates short of the bottom so as to leave a space or passage 4 for the liquid as hereinafter described. The ribs 2 serve a double purpose, In the first place they constitute anodes which are an integral part of the tank itself. This tends to greatly reduce the resistance over that from the tank in which the anodes are suspended from conducting hars. in the second place these ribs constitute strengthening members and they are so proportioned that there is no need of the exterior Wooden casing which is generally used Thus a tank constructed according to myinvention takes up considerably less room.

At each end of the tank are supports such asthe posts 5 upon the top of which is a cross member 6 (see Fig. 2) bearing an insulator 7 which is preferably of glass or other insulating material. A series of suspension bars 8 is provided for supporting the cathode plates 9 which are secured to the suspension bars by means of the lugs 9*. The SUS71XlSlUI1 bars 8 rest upon the top of one of the insulating ,lates 7 at one end of the tank and at the ot er end upon a bus bar 10 which is disposed on .an insulating plate 11 carried by a suitable support such as the block or bracket 12.

The tanks A, B, G, l), E and F are arranged one slightly below the other, as ").\'G in Fig. An overflow trouglrlii willed at the end of each tank for pera lion the fluid from one tank will be seen in Fig, 2, the or" tank; are disposed Y the end of t 1e trough 13, and in order e livid from coining in contact *1 l 1 provide down on to tank F and out by means of the bus 4 bar 10 and the" lead 15*.

used at the end-of each tank. There is a vast saving in the copper conducting bars.

" and cathodes, while in my device the tank .-'in'gbus bar which extend the entire length spouts 14 which conduct the fluid past the bars so that there is no danger of the latter being eaten away by the fluid falling upon it.

The tank A is connected with one of the leads 15. Abus bar 10 is connected te the end of the adjacent tank by means of a suitable conductor 16. The tank B is similarly connected to the tank C. The bus bar 10 of the tank C is connected with the tank D and the cathode supports of the latter tank are prolonged to rest on a conducting bus bar 10, as shown in Fig. 4. This bu bar is connected directly to the tank E by the conductor 1G. The tank E is connected to the tank F in a similar manner. Current is taken out at the conducting bus bar 10 at the left of Fig. 3 by means of the lead 15. In theillustration the fluid is designed to enter from the left of both rows of tanks in Fig. 3 and to flow toward the right.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation thereof may be readily understood.

The current will enter by one of the leads such as that shown at 15 and will pass through the walls of the tank A, thence from the anodes 2 to the cathodes 9, bus bar 10, conductor 16 to tank B, thence to tank C, and from its bus bar 10 to tank D,. through the anode to the cathode, and by bus bar 10 and conductor 16 to the tank E,

v It will be noted {that instead of' using the ordinary conductof the tank, a short conducting bus bar is In the ordinary tank these bus bars have to tie "provided as carriers for both the anodes itself i a carrier as well as a container. I do away with the long conducting bus bars oneach side. I do away with the numerous joints which tend to increase the electrical resistances. I utilize the space whic is necessary in the ordinary construction f r a clearance at the'ends of the plates when they are placed transversel of the cell, thus pro viding a greater sur ace and hence cutting down the internal resistance of the cell, thereby saving in current. The doing away with the wooden frame, which, as stated before, is approximately six inches wide on the sides and ends of the tank economizes greatly in floor space, permitting greater concentration of the cells. All these advaniages reduce the cost of treatment considerably.

In the ordinary cell there is a great difference in the conductivity of the anode and the cathode. Assuming the conductivity of copper to be 100, and the conductivity of antimonia'l lead to. be approximately 8 it will be seen that there is a great difference between the conductivity of the anode and the cathode. In certain instances it is desirable to increase the conductivity of the anode to approximately that of the cathode, and in such a case I prefer to make the cell a of aluminum. Thi tends to effect economy in the consumption of current.

A series of cells set up as described is convenient to handle, moreover there is less danger of short circuiting. In the ordinary cell the wooden frame is apt to become wet with the acid, thereby increasing the tendency to short circuits. In my device the absence of the frame prevents any such action.

I claim 1. In an electrolytic apparatus, an elongated tank of conducting material, a series of metal strengthening ribs integral with" said tank and extendin longitudinally thereof, said metal ribs dividing the tank into separate cells and constituting anodes, a series of conducting bars suspended above said tank, a cathode carried by each of said conducting bars, said cathode being disposed between adjacent anodes, a common conducting bus bar at the end of the cell having electrical connection with said conducting bars,

an electrolyte disposed in said cell, an over flow trough at one end of said cell, and a baffle plate extending across one end of said cell near said over flow trough, said baffle plate terminating short of the bottom of the cell to provide a passage for the electrolyte.

2. In an electrolytic apparatus, an 'elonlgated tank of conducting material, a series of metal strengthening ribs integral with said tank and extendin longitudinally thereof, said metal ribs dividing the tank into separate cells and constitutin anodes, a series of conducting bars suspended above said tank, a cathode carried by each of said conducting bars, said cathode being disposed between adjacent anodes, a common conducting bus bar at the end of the Bell havingelectrical connection with said conducting bars, an electrolyte disposed in said cell, an over flow trough at one end of said cell, and a bafiie plate extending across one end of said cell near said over flow trough, said baffle plate terminating short of the bottom of the cell to provide a passage for the electrolyte, said baflie plate being integral with said metal tank and said anodes.

3. In an electrolytic apparatus, the combination of a series of cells, each cell comprising a metal tank, a plurality of integral strengthening plates dis osed within the tank and extending longitudinally thereof, said plates constituting anodes, a transverse baffle plate near one end of the tank, said ballie plate being integral with the tank and with said anodes, an over flow trough at the end of the tank near said ballle plate, a conducting bus bardisposed above said trough, a plurality of conducting ribs, one end of each of said ribs being connected to said conducting bus bar and the other end being insulated, and cathode plates suspended from each of said conducting bars between adjacent anodes, the cells of the series being progressively lower in elevation.

4. In an electrolytic apparatus, the com-' bination of a series of cells, each cell comprising a metal tank, a plurality of integral strengthening plates disposed Within the tank and extending longitudinally there of, said 1I Elates constituting anodes, a transverse ba e plate near one end of the tank, said bafile plate being integral with the tank and with said anodes, an over flow trough at the end of the tank near said baffle plate, a conducting bus bar disposed above said trough, a plurality of conducting ribs, one

end of each of said ribs being connected to said conductin bus bar and the other end being insulate cathode plates suspend-ed from each of said conductin bars between adjacent anodes, the cells of t e series being progressively lower in elevation, down spouts connected with the over flow trough of one cell and extending downwardly past the conducting bars which suspend the oathodes of the adjacent cell, and an electrical connection between the conducting bus bar of one cell and the metal tank of the adj acent lower cell.

JOHN D. FIELDS.

Witnesses:

L. A. STANLEY, SOLON G. KEMON. 

